rebelling against low expectations
Several years ago, I had an idea about how to earn some fast cash. Since four-wheel-drive vehicles—like Jeeps and SUVs— sell for a premium in Colorado, I thought I’d buy one in the Midwest, drive it home, and sell it for a profit. A day into my search, I discovered a sporty pickup with low mileage and a five-speed manual transmission. On the outside, the cardinal-red paint was impeccable. The 3.0...
As a senior in high school, I was sitting in a room full of teenage girls in a small group Bible study. I was one of the oldest, single, and the majority of the younger girls were dating – most as young as fifteen. Those who weren’t dating admitted feeling inadequate as a result. This troubled me, and it still does. I’m still single – never been on a date. But God has me right where...
Guy/girl relationships can be confusing, can’t they? Guy/girl relationships online can be even more confusing. Does she like me? we wonder. Why is he emailing me? Why does she always comment on my posts? I think he’s flirting . . . is he flirting? Does she private message other guys . . . or just me? We stalk, we scroll, we like and comment, and before we know it, we have a full blown crush on...
“You’ll talk to my dad now?” I asked JP, heart pounding, palms sweaty against my sides. “You’re ready?” “Yeah, I’ve been preparing myself for this,” he said softly. A small smile played on his lips, as if he were mustering all his confidence. He had another mountain to climb, another step to claim this relationship as ours. “I knew I’d have to do this sooner or later.” For a split second, the...
“Guess who contacted me…again?” My friend showed me her phone screen. I peered at the message. “Oh no. Not again. Really?” For over a year, a young man my friend knew had been randomly Facebook messaging her. At first she thought he might be interested in her, but after sporadic, odd messages with no seeming purpose to them, she was beginning to think he was just weird. Or really, really lonely...
“She’s been single for eighteen years,” My coworker said with awe in his voice to the girl folding clothes beside him. I braced myself. I had been waved over from my post in the fitting room to join a conversation two of my coworkers were having about dating. Usually, I could handle the frequent comments about my lack of experience with love in good humor. Tonight was just not one of those nights...
I’m seventeen. I’ve never been married. Never even courted or dated or any other such marriage-centered things. But today I want to write to you about marriage. A lot of us have grown up in the church with loving parents and youth pastors who have given us many valuable resources and talks about relationships and marriage. How to do them well, what to avoid, where the line is that you absolutely...
“Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.'” (Genesis 2:18) This verse used to stump me. It was something that caused me to prop my chin on my hand and say “huh!” If God knew man shouldn’t be alone, then why are there so many single people in the world today? As I sat back and thought about these...
If you are anything like me, you had a goal for your future relationship and marriage from a young age. You were going to do it right—you were going to save your first kiss for your wedding day, involve your parents and friends in the relationship, choose the right person on the first try, and live happily ever after. You probably watched friends and family members fall into relational and sexual...
“So, who do you think is the cutest Disney prince?” Uh oh. I glance up at the other two girls sharing the table and nudge quinoa around my plate, stalling for time. Questions like this freak me right out. I could say that Cinderella Man is okay, except his features are too delicate, or that Prince Adam has nice eyes, but he could stand a haircut. However, something seems off about this whole...
rebelling against low expectations
